KUCHING: When the former headman of Long Kerong's Penan village was bitten by a poisonous snake during the Covid-19 pandemic, he certainly would have died within the hour if he had not taken the antidote the tribes people in this remote part of Baram had concocted.
The nearest health clinic that could save his life with modern medicine was at Lio Matu, a Kenyah settlement that is a four- to five-hour journey by boat.While they were rushing him to the clinic, they applied their locally concocted medicine on him.
"By the time they reached the clinic, he had recovered from the effect of the poison of the snake bite," a former University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) researcher, Franklin George, said when sharing a testimonial on the powers of the Selugo Penan medicinal plants.
The incident in 2020 happened at the time Franklin was conducting a research there on plants that the Penans in Long Kerong knew had medicinal properties.
The Penans are Sarawak's last nomadic tribes people, and Long Kerong, situated along the upper reaches of the Baram River, can be reached by road. But the journey can be challenging due to the remote and rugged terrain.
The village is located in a mountainous and heavily forested area, which is primarily accessible via logging roads. From Miri, one can take one of the many 4x4 wheeled drive transport vehicles for the eight- to 10-hour drive on paved road to a point on the Baram River for the connecting travel by boat. That's about an hour, if the water is not shallow. Then its another half-an-hour bumpy ride by logging road to the village.
As medical and health services are so far away, the Penans therefore have to rely on their own "clinic" and the medical knowledge that has been orally passed down through the ages to survive any medical scares.
Their antidote for snake bites is concocted from the roots and leaves of a vine known locally as Bengoo Pelanok.
It's scientific name is Fibraurea Tinctoria-Menispermaceae.Its a plant that the Penans also use to treat insect stings and fever, Franklin said when sharing an insight of his research at a talk organised by Friends of the Sarawak Museum here last Sunday.
His research had been compiled into a 138-page book called Tumbuhan Ubatan Tradisional Masyarakat Penan Selugo.
For snake bites, Franklin — a Penan himself — said the Penans would squeeze the fruits of the vine for the juice that would be applied directly to the bite wound. The roots and leaves are then burnt for their ashes, which are also applied onto the bite wound.
For fever, the root of the plant would be steamed and then taken orally.
Getting bitten by snakes are a common occurrence among the indigenous ethnic groups living in the remote parts of the state and who are primarily engage in subsistence farming, hunting and fishing.
But Franklin said the Penans are not willing to share their knowledge with people outside their community.
To conduct this research, Franklin said he had to seek permission from the community's elders.
In the end, the deal that was reached was not to publish all of his findings.
"We discovered 100 plants the Penans knew have medicinal properties, but we are allowed to only share 53 with the world," Franklin said.
The book he compiled them in could not be sold and permission is also required for circulation among fellow researchers.
"Their knowledge is a closely guarded secret. They fear that if the world knew what they know, then rampant exploitation of the forest could set in.
"That's their fear; that everything could be taken away from them."